Distraction Skills
A coping skill that utilizes art supplies to illustrate an image.
What is coloring and or drawing?
A grounding skill in which an individual finds themselves wandering while appreciating their surroundings while being in nature.
What is going outside/going for a walk/hiking?
A physical sign of being angry that involves a rise in body heat.
What is sweating or turning red?
This is a coping skill that involves tissues and maybe a hug from a trusted person to help someone feel their emotions.
What is crying?
A coping skill for anxiety that requires the person to be mindful about the inhalation and exhalation of air for a duration of time (ex. 4 seconds, 6 seconds, etc.)
What is deep breathing?
A coping skill that requires a book and a comfy place to sit.
What is reading?
A grounding coping skill that is used to help bring awareness to one's body through focusing on one's breath. When thoughts arise during this practice, one should allow them to pass them by like clouds in the sky.
(Can be done sitting up or laying down)
What is meditation?
A useful coping skill for anger that involves considering how big of an issue the situation an individual is in by asking if the issue will still be relevant after a number of seconds, hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc.
What is 10-10-10?
This coping skill for depression involves bringing up issues that an individual is facing to a person in their support system.
What is talking to someone?
A coping skill for anxiety in that helps distract a person by choosing a category (ex. food, movies, books, etc.) and then listing items in that category by alphabetical order.
What is the ABC game?
A coping skill which requires organization and tidying of your environment/surroundings.
What is cleaning?
A grounding coping skill that requires an individual to observe their surroundings according to their senses.
What is 5-4-3-2-1?
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
A good coping skill for anger that involves getting excess energy or tension out by actively moving one's body and groups of muscles in a way that is exhausting and improves one's personal fitness and health.
What is exercise?
This coping skill for depression involves CD's, radio, or streaming services to listen to audio in an attempt to change one's mood to a more neutral or positive mood.
What is listening to music?
Be mindful of the type of music you listen to as it can sometimes (not always) worsen your mood if you listen to music that matches a depressive or angry mood.
An individual experiencing anxiety might do this if they are feeling overwhelmed by their own thoughts or the task at hand. This allows for the person to step away from the stressor and utilize coping skills while they are away from their task.
What is taking a break or taking space?
A coping skill that requires a person to write down or type items related to a specific category
Examples of categories: favorite musicians, favorite foods, favorite movies, etc.
What is list making?
This grounding coping skill requires an individual to tense up groups of muscles for a duration of time and then slowly relax the muscles to help achieve a state of calm and relaxation.
What is progressive muscle relaxation?
This coping skill for anger involves an individual mindfully communicating an issue to someone who can help the individual work through the issue to come to a resolution.
What is talking to someone or confronting the conflict?
This is the practice of taking care of one's own physical and emotional health through daily activities and tasks. This aids in preventing burn out (feeling extreme exhaustion in our daily lives).
What is self-care?
Self-care can involve taking care of your appearance, brushing your teeth, drinking water, getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, taking daily medications, seeing a therapist/counselor regularly, etc.
What is your favorite self-care activity?
Three physical signs of anxiety.
(Name 3 signs of anxiety)
What are racing thoughts, rapid heart rate, trembling/shaking, impending sense of doom,
A coping skill that requires an individual to put their thoughts onto paper about a variety of topics that span from what happened during their day to what their thoughts are on an emotional question.
What is journaling?
A grounding coping skill that requires an individual to consider their perspective in terms of what neighborhood they are in, what city that neighborhood is in, what state that city is in, what country that state is in, what continent that country resides in, and what planet that continent resides in.
Ex. "I am in the classroom, which is in the hospital, which is in Boys Town, which is in Nebraska...
What is "zooming out"?
These are three additional physical signs of anger one can experience in their body.
(Name at least three)
What are: heart racing, heavy breathing, headache, clammy hands, tightness in chest, shaking/trembling, muscle tension/pain, raised voice/yelling, crying, dizziness, or clenched fists?
This coping skill for depression involves an individual challenging their negative thoughts by examining the evidence of said thought and considering the outcomes of believing those thoughts as opposed to more positive thoughts one could have about a situation.
This is traditionally done with a therapist, but can be done on one's own with worksheets.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT?
Define the acronym SODAS
(Name at least 3 of the letters)
Situation
Options
Disadvantages
Advantages
Solution